Monday, November 24, 2014

As one of the world’s biggest pop stars with a candy-colored fever dream of a stage show that keeps eyes glued, Katy Perry may seem like an obvious choice to play the Super Bowl halftime show, which NBC has confirmed she’ll do for the first time next February. But this year’s show was the source of some minor intrigue this fall when the N.F.L. asked some top-flight acts— including Perry, Coldplay, and Rihanna— to pay for the privilege of headlining the most-watched TV event of the year.

“I have let them know that I’m not the type of girl that would pay to play the Super Bowl,” Perry said last month in a surreal, “surprise” appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay. “So the ball is in their field.” So did the N.F.L. back down? We may never know for sure, but given Perry’s history of cryptic tweets and speaking her mind, we’ll probably get a hint somewhere down the line. For now, Perry is merely expressing her excitement… in emoji form, obviously.